GPU Fan Replacement Guide & How to Find Right Graphics Card Fan

Graphics Card Fan failure is one of the worst things that can happen to your graphics card. The majority of the graphics cards in the market come with an active cooling solution that consists of a combination of heatsink and fan. The fan is one of the most important parts of a GPU cooling solution and if it fails or its performance degrades then the GPU will overheat and which can lead to thermal throttling and may cause damage to your graphics card, especially during gaming or during higher GPU workload.

So, if your graphics card fan fails or is under-performing then you have to replace it with a newer one. However, it is not easy to find a replacement fan for a graphics card because they have custom designs and are not sold by the manufacturer, and have different mounting points and sizes. Having said that, you can still find aftermarket replacement fans for your graphics card if you know your graphics card model, its brand, mounting holes position, and the fan size. So, here in this post, I am going to tell you how to find the proper replacement fan for your graphics card.

Read also: Graphics Card Troubleshooting Guide [All Major Fixes]

How to Find out Faulty Graphics Card Fan

You can easily find out a faulty graphics card fan if you encounter the following things mentioned below.

Fan Stops Spinning – This is very obvious that if the GPU fan stops spinning then it is gone bad and needs to be replaced. There is no other option for this.

Reduced Performance – If the fan is spinning at a lower speed at full RPM compared to when it was new or before then it has issues and needs to be replaced.

Making Noise – If the fan starts making annoying noise or loud sound then its bearing has gone bad and it can fail anytime. So, it is better to replace it as soon as possible.

Must Read:

How to Select the Right Graphics Card Fan

Follow the below-mentioned tips to find the right replacement fan for your graphics card. These tips apply to both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.

Fan Size

The first and foremost thing to do is to know your graphics card fan size. Fan size is nothing but the diameter of the fan and you can find it by using a ruler or a measuring tape. You should always buy a fan with the same fan size otherwise it will not fit properly and you will end up wasting your money on it. Examples of some common fan sizes for graphics cards include 75mm, 90mm, 95mm, etc. Also, match the fan design because a different fan design can affect performance as the heatsink could have been designed for that particular type of fan only. All these replacement graphics card fans are Chinese made and are generic or from smaller brands.

gpu-fan-size-mounts-connector

Check out the links below to find your replacement graphics card fan for all popular graphics card brands that include Zotac, Asus, MSI, EVGA, XFX, Gigabyte, EVGA, etc.

Check out Graphics Card Fans on Amazon

Find Graphics Card Replacement Fans on AliExpress.com

Mounting Points

When you have selected the right size then the next thing to look is the mounting points on the fan. If the mounting points are in the same position as the original fan then it is good to go, otherwise, you will definitely face trouble in mounting or installing that new fan in the proper place on your graphics card. However, if the positioning of mount points differs slightly and if you have already bought the fan then you can stick it to the graphics card fan location using super glue or a good strong adhesive. This is only a workaround and should be used when the fitting is really offset because glue may cause permanent damage to your mount points, so use it at your own risk.

Buy Gorilla Super Glue Gel

Connector

Next thing is to check the connector that is included with the fan. A graphics card with a single fan generally comes with a standard 4-pin connector but a graphics card with multiple fans i.e. two or three fans come with multiple connectors with more pin i.e. 5-pin and 6-pin. You can clearly see this in the image given below that shows a three-fan pack for the Asus Strix graphics card. Here, Fan A, B, and C have different connectors and if you are only looking for a particular fan i.e. either A or B or C then you must be completely sure of this connector thing. Graphics cards with multiple fans may have different fan sizes too so always measure the fan size before getting a particular single fan for such graphics cards. One other thing to check is whether the connector is a male or female type because I have seen that some original GPU fans may come with a male 4-pin connector whereas in most cases the graphics card fan connector is a female one only.   

 tripe-gpu-fans

Important Tip: If you are changing the damaged fan of your graphics card then you can go one step further and change its thermal paste too for better performance and heat transfer. This is because older thermal paste dries out with time and its performance tends to degrade with the passage of time. This will help in reducing the temperature of your graphics card to better levels.

Check out: Best Thermal Paste for GPU and CPU

How to Replace Graphics Card Fan

It is very easy to remove a faulty GPU fan and replace it with a new fan in a modern-day graphics card. Also, you don’t have to remove the heatsink for replacing your graphics card fan.

First of all, remove the top plastic cover (if present) by unscrewing the screws holding it.

Next is to unscrew the fan from its mount points and unplug the connector.

Take out the fan carefully from its location and then put the new fan in its place and then put all the screws in their place and plug in the power connector. Then put the plastic cover back with its screws at their proper location.

See also:

Any Doubts?

If you still have any doubts about choosing the proper replacement fan for your graphics card then you can ask me your queries by leaving a comment below by clearly stating your graphics card model and its manufacturer or brand.

(*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase through the links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site!)

133 Comments

  1. Paul February 23, 2019
    • Akshat Verma February 23, 2019
  2. Patrick Edwards March 20, 2019
    • Akshat Verma March 20, 2019
      • patrick Edwards March 20, 2019
        • Akshat Verma March 20, 2019
  3. patrick Edwards March 20, 2019
  4. Jason Palmer April 30, 2019
    • Akshat Verma April 30, 2019
      • Jason Palmer April 30, 2019
        • Akshat Verma April 30, 2019
  5. Jon May 20, 2019
    • Akshat Verma May 21, 2019
  6. Denson16 May 23, 2019
    • Akshat Verma May 23, 2019
  7. Denis Vandendaele August 13, 2019
    • Akshat Verma August 14, 2019
      • Denis Vandendaele August 14, 2019
        • Akshat Verma August 14, 2019
      • Denis Vandendaele August 14, 2019
        • Akshat Verma August 14, 2019
  8. Garrett November 29, 2019
    • Akshat Verma November 29, 2019
  9. Christopher Miles February 6, 2020
    • Akshat Verma February 6, 2020
  10. Morten Ingebrigtsen March 18, 2020
    • Akshat Verma March 18, 2020
  11. Terapong deco April 2, 2020
    • Akshat Verma April 2, 2020
      • Terapong deco April 2, 2020
        • Akshat Verma April 2, 2020
  12. Dan April 30, 2020
  13. George May 1, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 1, 2020
  14. George May 1, 2020
    • George May 9, 2020
      • Akshat Verma May 9, 2020
  15. Jaime May 1, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 2, 2020
      • Jaime May 2, 2020
        • Akshat Verma May 2, 2020
  16. Moh May 3, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 3, 2020
      • Moh May 3, 2020
        • Akshat Verma May 3, 2020
  17. Moh May 3, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 3, 2020
  18. Johnson May 10, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 11, 2020
      • Johnson May 11, 2020
  19. Alex May 18, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 18, 2020
  20. Kos May 25, 2020
    • Akshat Verma May 26, 2020
  21. Rob Wilson June 4, 2020
    • Akshat Verma June 4, 2020
  22. Jake June 24, 2020
    • Akshat Verma June 24, 2020
  23. Tns June 25, 2020
    • Akshat Verma June 25, 2020
      • Tns June 25, 2020
        • Akshat Verma June 25, 2020
  24. Waqar June 28, 2020
    • Akshat Verma June 28, 2020
      • Waqar June 28, 2020
        • Akshat Verma June 28, 2020
  25. Dilip June 30, 2020
    • Akshat Verma July 1, 2020
  26. PhMar July 15, 2020
    • Akshat Verma July 15, 2020
  27. kunal September 1, 2020
    • Akshat Verma September 1, 2020
      • kunal September 1, 2020
        • Akshat Verma September 1, 2020
  28. Kunal September 1, 2020
    • Akshat Verma September 1, 2020
  29. Rolando Cruz November 29, 2020
    • Akshat Verma November 30, 2020
  30. Bobby November 30, 2020
    • Akshat Verma December 1, 2020
  31. Logan December 25, 2020
    • Akshat Verma December 25, 2020
      • Logan December 25, 2020
        • Akshat Verma December 25, 2020
  32. Spike February 7, 2021
    • Akshat Verma February 7, 2021
  33. BRUCE February 27, 2021
    • Akshat Verma February 28, 2021
      • BRUCE February 28, 2021
        • Akshat Verma February 28, 2021
      • BRUCE February 28, 2021
  34. Drei February 27, 2021
    • Akshat Verma February 28, 2021
      • Drei February 28, 2021
        • Akshat Verma February 28, 2021
  35. Drei February 28, 2021
    • Akshat Verma February 28, 2021
  36. Garrett March 11, 2021
    • Akshat Verma March 11, 2021
  37. MultiGamerClub April 6, 2021
    • Akshat Verma April 6, 2021
  38. Patrick Huey April 30, 2021
  39. Tim May 10, 2021
    • Akshat Verma May 10, 2021
  40. Tim May 11, 2021
    • Akshat Verma May 11, 2021
  41. Tim May 11, 2021
  42. Ryan May 11, 2021
    • Akshat Verma May 12, 2021
  43. Tim May 12, 2021
    • Akshat Verma May 12, 2021
  44. Tim May 12, 2021
  45. Daniel June 9, 2021
    • Akshat Verma June 9, 2021
  46. Stephen Mick June 18, 2021
    • Akshat Verma June 18, 2021
  47. Davin S July 24, 2021
    • Akshat Verma July 24, 2021
  48. Davin S July 24, 2021
    • Akshat Verma July 24, 2021
  49. Hellsing August 6, 2021
  50. matt November 27, 2021
    • Akshat Verma November 28, 2021
  51. Anirban Sen January 18, 2022
    • Akshat Verma January 18, 2022
  52. KB March 11, 2022
    • Akshat Verma March 12, 2022
  53. Kelly K April 19, 2022
    • Akshat Verma April 19, 2022
      • Kelly Kimball April 20, 2022
        • Akshat Verma April 20, 2022
  54. Parli June 5, 2022
    • Akshat Verma June 5, 2022

Leave a Reply

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.